BJP cold to PDP feelers on Afspa, will wait for Mehbooba’s Sunday meet

The BJP seems unwilling to expand the ambit of the agenda of alliance with the Mehbooba Mufti-led PDP in Jammu and Kashmir and will not cede any more ground than what was agreed upon before forming a government under Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, whose death last month led to a political uncertainty in the state.

The Mehbooba Mufti-led Peoples Democratic Party had sounded out to the BJP that it wants the Centre to agree to lift the controversial Afspa from at least two districts of the state and deliver its commitment to vacate buildings occupied by security forces before she takes oath as the chief minister.

The state was placed under governor’s rule earlier this month after the PDP put off Mehbooba’s swearing-in after her father Sayeed’s death to nudge its alliance partner to give her party a better deal.

“There are issues (such as Armed Forces Special Powers Act) on which we have historically held different views. After a detailed discussion, we reached a common ground in the agenda of alliance. Now, it would be difficult to broaden the scope of the alliance… Like her, we also have certain constituencies to address,” a BJP leader in New Delhi told .